The influence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) lectures on referrals in the medical profession

[摘要] The purpose of CPD lectures is to provide learning on a continuous basis to keepmedical doctors up to date with the newest scientific developments. The majorresponsibility of CPD provision is to address two interrelated tasks, namely tosustain motivation among established general practitioners (GP's) and specialistsfor self-directed learning based on experienceand to device ways of sharing individual experiences.In the process of fulfilling these two tasks, CPD lectures can also be utilized as amarketing tool for both the hospital and the specialist. This means that thespecialist, in the process of presenting the lecture, can utilise this platform tomarket his/her expertise and the resources of the hospital from where hefunctions so as to increase the number of referrals he/she receives.Consultation and referrals have always been important processes for both theGP's and specialists. It is of the utmost importance for specialists to establishnetworks with the GP's in order to establish a stable referral pattern. It ishowever also important that this network pattern grows due to the fact thatcompetition for patients intensifies and because more and more health careorganisations are devoting more resources to understand the factors that directlyor indirectly influence patient volume. Once these factors are identified, it will beeasier to influence patient volume for the benefit of the hospital and thespecialist.

[发布机构] University of the Free State